What the Spurs and Celtics said after Thursday’s game

Here are a few post-game comments after Boston’s 107-97 victory over the Spurs Thursday night, provided courtesy of the Spurs’ media services office.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich

(Opening statement on tonight’s game)

“It was a tough loss. They (Celtics) played well and they deserved the win. Now, we move on and try to play better in Houston.”

(On if Boston shooting 55% was the biggest problem with the game today)

“The game was won when we got a little three happy in the third quarter. Then, the transition defense didn’t follow. Some of the shots were very good and open, some were contested. The transition after it is really important and they took advantage of it. They made it a 10-point game at that point and we couldn’t get back in it and that was the game.”

(On if Tim Duncan looked ood coming back, was that the positive part of the game tonight?)

“Timmy (Duncan) didn’t have an ‘all-star game.’ He did what he was supposed to do. He didn’t score that much, but it’s a team game. It’s not just Timmy’s job.”

(On if Antonio McDyess rolled his ankle)

“Yes he did. He went and got it re-taped, but he’s fine.”

(On if when Rajon Rondo is hitting the mid-range shot, does that make Boston’s offense tougher to handle)

“Of course it does. It gives them another scorer around the court. He did a great job of knocking down shots tonight.”

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili

(On not getting to the free throw line tonight)

“Not as much. I think I should have gone a couple times, but it just didn’t happen. I attacked the rim. It hurt me also that I couldn’t make a shot, so the defense wasn’t really worried about my shot. I think I should have gone a couple times.”

(On if Boston was shutting the lane and keeping everything outside)

“It’s hard to tell. During the game, players, we think about the game and we sometimes lose perspective. I’m not sure what happened, but what I do know is that when it counted, they made every shot. (Rajon) Rondo got a lot of jumpers, (Kevin) Garnett made many too, Big Baby (Glen Davis), and we didn’t. We had some very good looks for good shooters, but they just didn’t fall. They of course executed better down the stretch.”

(On how the Spurs end this losing streak)

“I think that the first three games, the first two especially, we played great. We played good teams on the road, we had a good opportunity to win and we made mistakes down the stretch and we couldn’t win, but we played pretty well. Against Memphis, without Tim (Duncan), without me in the second half, still up seven early in the fourth against another good team, we lost. The fourth (game) is kind of hard to take into consideration without any of us three and (Antonio) McDyess not playing, still against a good team, up eight down the stretch and couldn’t win it. Today was the worst of the five. They just beat us fair and square. They beat us in every part of the game, they made every shot, their defense was better, they didn’t foul as much, and we lost sight of them in transition, which is something we usually don’t do, especially against Boston. That’s how they got the lead. That’s my read on the five-game losing streak.”

(On if he’s concerned that the Lakers have a shot at the No. 1 seed)

“Of course we want to be number one. It’s not that we want to give it away because we like being underdogs. No, no we want to win it, but we put ourselves in an unbelievable situation, being up seven games with 12, 14 to go. We’re still up two and with seven games to go. Go back in time and ask me this question six months ago and I would love to be in this situation. We lost a few games as I told you before. I don’t think we’re in a crisis or that we played like cr– all five games. We just had one today kind of shaky. We’re in a great situation. We just have to keep fighting and play together.”

Spurs guard Tony Parker

(On the losing streak)

“Tough stretch for us, tough game tonight. We played very well and they made every jump shot, shot the ball very well. Have to give them a lot of credit.”

(On what the approach is to break the losing streak)

“Just keep going, keep playing, and focus on the next game. We have to forget this one real fast because we have another one tomorrow and tomorrow’s game is very important now.”

(On if it is encouraging to see Tim Duncan play well)

“Yeah definitely. He shot the ball well, he was aggressive from the get go, got boards, and I thought he played pretty well.”

Spurs forward Tim Duncan

(On how to get out of the losing streak)

“Simple enough, get a win. We put ourselves in this situation. Luckily, we’ve played great basketball all season and we’ve given ourselves a lead on the rest of the league. We’ve given some of that back, but we still have enough. We need to right this ship and we’re going to go into Houston tomorrow and try to bring that focus back. We’re at full strength again now, so we’re going to try to get everyone back on the same page and start with one win and try to go from there.”

(On what needs to change the most now)

“Defensively, we’re not as solid as we’ve been the last 20 games or so and finishing in the fourth quarter more than anything. It’s just about getting that confidence back, keeping our defense consistent throughout a game, and then finishing games.”

(On how difficult it was to watch the first three games of the road trip on TV)

“It was the first time I’ve ever done that and it was very difficult to watch it on TV and have no control over what happens out there. I thought the guys played really well, played really hard. It just came up to that fourth quarter, section of the fourth quarter where we kind of gave it away. Unfortunately, we did that tonight as well.”

(On if they’re happy to get back on the court tomorrow)

“Yeah, we want to do that. We want to get back on the floor. We want to play again and try to get ourselves right. Nothing better than going back-to-back to get right back on the court.”

Celtics coach Doc Rivers

(Opening statement)

“I think both teams wanted the game. It was a good, intense game. It’s nice to have some of those in the regular season. I just thought it was a team win for us; everyone kind of pitched in. I thought the biggest point of the game was the beginning of the game when Kevin got the two fouls. We held our ground. I thought O’Neal was absolutely wonderful for us.”

(On Rondo’s shooting tonight)

“That was terrific…we kept moving the ball and Rondo kept taking shots. It was terrific because they just found the shots and Rondo stepped up and took shots. I thought just the ball movement in general was good and Rondo was phenomenal. The attacking speed that we played at and the extra ball movement was absolutely wonderful.”

(On the play where Garnett and Davis locked arms on defense)

“That’s our 45. They went under and they decided to stay under. It looked like a wedge in football; it was a hilarious play in some ways. It wasn’t bad strategy on their part. I thought what they were saying was, ‘Make the shots.’ That puts a lot of pressure on you.”

(On Pierce stepping up)

“You knew Paul would because when you speak up you have to be the one. I thought Paul clearly carried us in the early going. When Kevin went out and we needed scoring, it was Paul. Early in the game he took it over for us, and that’s what he can do. That was wonderful.”

(On the difference in San Antonio’s defense versus years past)

“I think it’s overrated a little bit because the pace of their shot is quicker now, too. When you shoot quicker because you’re scoring more points, then even a good defense is going to give up more point. Even on their good defensive nights, because they’re scoring, that means you get the ball back quicker as well which means you get more possessions. That’s probably the biggest difference.”

(On the Spurs not getting stops)

“Tonight we just made shots, I mean let’s be honest. As long as I’ve been in this league, it’s a make-miss league and it always will be. If you would have told them that we were going to take basically all jump-shots; we had about five post-ups the entire game, if you would have told them we were going to take all jump-shots and make them, they probably would have said, ‘I want to see them do that.’ We made the shots.”

(On Jermaine O’Neal’s performance tonight)

“He played well. He got a three-point play that was a huge play in the game. I was just happy to see him defensively moving very well. The first thing he said after the game was that the speed of the game is different than in a gym by myself.”

Celtics guard Rajon Rondo

(How did being prepared on your set help you tonight?)

“We went through walk through, went over all our sets, and we figured out all the options so tonight we came out and executed down the stretch.”

(How important is it now to get Jermaine up to speed and to get Shaq back?)

“I think he is up to speed, I say he got to get his conditioning. Being out so long, the one thing you don’t take for granted is conditioning, especially when you get out there on the court, you’re banging bodies, and you’re on pick and roll, so if he can get his conditioning back, he’ll be fine.”

Celtics forward Paul Pierce

(Did you feel the need to step up tonight?)

“I can’t do nothing without my teammates. I just go out and try to lead by example, that’s it. This is not a one-man show. I just got to continue to lead this team the way I lead and that’s about it. Hopefully everybody will fall into place and we can get back on track.”

(Playing the Spurs, did that give you guys extra incentive to win after your recent struggles?)

“This is a good place to try and gather some momentum. We talking about the team with the best record, best home record, what better place than to get back on track than here? We can’t rest, because we got Atlanta tomorrow. It’s a good win today but we got 8 or 9 games left.”

(Is that a typical San Antonio team as far as defense goes?)

“I don’t watch them everyday, I don’t know. We have been able to shoot a high percentage against them twice but there the best team in the league for a reason. They defend at a high level, but if we execute we are tough to stop.”